


The Time They Got A Dog

by sweetpeater



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Don't let the Avengers get a dog, Ficlet, Gen, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, probably, swearing I guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-02
Updated: 2014-10-02
Packaged: 2018-02-19 15:56:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2394323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetpeater/pseuds/sweetpeater
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint comes back to Avengers Tower with a big surprise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Time They Got A Dog

“There will be no dogs in Avengers Tower!” Fury bellows.  
Clint glares. “We found this dog on the street. He’s missing a leg, and a lot of blood from the looks of it. What else are we supposed to do, hand him over to a shelter that doesn’t give two craps about him?”  
Fury throws his hands up in frustration. “Yes, that is exactly what you’re supposed to do!”  
Natasha pipes up from the corner of the room. “Well, Tony could design him a functioning prosthetic, and Bruce could do some blood transfusions. It’s not like we don’t have options.”  
Bruce nods. “I’ve dabbled in veterinary work in the past. I quit because I found the hamsters too frustrating.”  
“What are we supposed to do when we go on missions?” Fury asks.  
“Look around you. There are hundreds of people in this tower alone. You think they aren’t capable of caring for a dog for a few days at a time?” Natasha counters.  
Clint sighs. “Come on, Director. We could use a little stress relief around here. I think a dog would be a great responsibility for us. I promise, we’ll take good care of it.”  
Fury rubs his forehead. “Fine. But if it comes into my office, or this floor for that matter, it. Is. Gone. Understood?”  
A collective “Yes, sir.” is uttered by everyone in the room.

Knock, knock, knock.  
“What?” Bucky snaps, peeking out from under his blankets. Steve stirs on the other side of the bed.  
“It’s Clint. I got news.” is the muffled reply from the other side of the door.  
Bucky sighs. “Come in.”  
“Why weren’t you at the meeting this morning?” Clint asks. “Actually, don’t answer that.” He whistles to something behind him.  
A hobbling yellow labrador enters the room. It walks up to Steve and starts licking his face. Steve bats him away. The dog doesn’t stop. “Bucky, what the hell are you...” he trails off when he opens his eyes.   
“Bucky?”  
“Yeah?” Bucky replies, holding back laughter.  
“Why is there a dog licking my face?”  
Bucky has to slam a pillow over his face.   
Steve still looks confused. “What’s going on?” His confused face smooths over in a sudden realization, and he glances towards the door. “Clint, why?”  
Clint shrugs. “I found him on the street last night. He needed a place to live. I managed to convince Fury to let him stay.”  
Bucky raises his eyebrows. “Wow, you should probably get some kind of medal for that.”  
“I know, but that’s not the point. Natasha and I are going to do some covert stuff, so will you watch him for me? His name’s Ozzy.”  
Steve furrows his brow. “Why couldn’t Tony or Bruce do it?”  
Clint sighs. “Fury said he wasn’t allowed on that floor. He needs to be watched as much as possible so he can get used to us. I also don’t know what he’s really like yet, so it’ll help if you make observations and take notes. Please? Thanks.” His pager beeps. “I have to go. He eats at 8am and 7pm, and Bruce will be here by noon to give him a blood transfusion.” With that, he disappears.  
“I have so many questions.” Bucky breathes.

Ozzy, as it turns out, was a great houseguest. Aside from the fact that he jumped up on Bucky’s spot on the couch.   
The dog stares at Steve as he sketches, stretched out on the couch. Steve pats the cushion next to him, and Ozzy jumps up. He turns a few times and curls up.  
Steve hears the shower turn off. Bucky emerges a few minutes later. When he walks into the living room, he stops short.   
“This is bullshit,” Bucky mutters.  
Steve is trying his hardest not to laugh.  
Bucky marches over to the couch and looks straight at Ozzy. “Alright, let’s get something straight. This is my spot. Even if Steve says you can sit there, as long as I’m here or will be in the near future, you can’t. Capisce?”  
Ozzy blinks and yawns.  
Bucky rolls his eyes and lifts the dog effortlessly onto the floor. He promptly plops himself onto the cushion and lays his head on Steve’s legs.   
Steve is still chuckling.  
“My spot.” Bucky reaffirms. He notices Steve’s notebook and frowns. “Are you taking notes?”  
Steve freezes. “No, but I should be.”  
Bucky nods. “Also, what time is it?”  
The clock on the wall reads 9:30.   
“Shit.” The two men say in unison.  
Bucky scrambles off the couch and snatches a bowl from the cupboard while Steve frantically searches the entryway for dog food. “Where’s the food?” he yells back at Bucky.  
“I don’t know! Clint just barged into our bedroom with no further instructions!” Bucky yells back. “Wait a sec, do we have any leftover hamburgers from the other night?”  
Steve thinks for a moment. “No, but I’ll bet Bruce does. Be right back.”

“Where’s the dog food?” Steve yells as he storms into Bruce’s lab.   
Bruce drops the pen he’d been holding. “Jesus H. Christ, don’t do that!”  
Steve winces. “Sorry, I forgot. Do you know where Clint put the dog food?”  
Bruce pauses. “No, I don’t.”  
“Do you have any leftover hamburgers?”  
The scientist reaches down into a mini fridge under his desk and pulls out a bag of hamburgers. Steve catches the burgers as Bruce throws them. “Thanks, I’m sorry.”  
Bruce shakes his head. “No problem, just don’t do it again, please. I like this lab.”

As Steve walks down the corridor to the elevator, his pager beeps. “Rogers.”  
“Steve? We have a problem.” Bucky’s voice carries through the receiver.  
Steve curses. “What is it?”  
“You left the fucking door open and the dog got out.”  
“Shit! I’ll get the rest of the guys to find him without Fury noticing. You start looking around our floor.” Steve automatically switches into commander mode, intent on finding the dog.   
“No problem, commander.” Bucky says, signing out. Steve tries to will his blush to go away. He shakes his head and pages in the rest of the crew. “Listen up, we’ve got a situation. Dog has escaped. Mission: find the dog before Fury does. Copy?”  
A chorus of “copy” echoes through the tiny speaker. There’s a bit of grumbling on Sam’s end. “Alright, positions?”  
Sam is the first to respond. “First and second floors.”  
Tony is a close second. “I’ll take my floor, then five and six.”  
Bruce follows suit. “Seven and eight covered.”  
“Alright, I guess I get three and four.” Steve replies. “Bucky, what’s yours?”  
“I’ll get nine and Fury’s.” Bucky replies.  
Sam’s voice pipes up. “You sure about that, Bionic Boy?”  
Bucky’s snort is audible. “Ghost. Remember, Birdman?”  
“Shut up before you get us caught!” Tony hisses. “I just got my flamethrower privileges back!”  
“Going in.” Bucky whispers, and his line is out.  
Steve patrols his floor, not finding any sign of the dog. He then moves on to the next floor. A scuffle of boots has him pressed up against the wall. Fury’s voice echoes down the hall. “...damn dog.”   
Maria is next to him. “You did the right thing, Director. The dog needed a home.”  
Steve realizes that they’re about to turn the corner, and he casually walks forward.   
“Afternoon, Cap.” Fury greets him. Steve nods and continues walking. He reaches the next corner and stops, peering around to view Fury and Maria. They’re taking the elevator. “Heads up, Fury and Hill are on their way up from my floor.” he hisses into his pager.   
Tony curses. “You know where they’re going?”  
“Probably to ten.” Bruce’s voice patches through.   
An hour later, they still haven’t found the dog, nor have they heard from Bucky. “I think it’s time to turn it in,” Steve admits. The crew affirms this, and the line goes dead. He heads back to his apartment. When he opens the door, Bucky and the dog are on the couch.  
The dog is in Steve’s spot.  
“Where was he?” he asks, incredulous.  
Bucky shrugs. “In Fury’s office.”  
Steve’s eyes practically pop out of his head. “But...how...”  
“Ex-master assassin, Stevie.” Bucky says, waving a potato chip at him.  
Steve drops a kiss to his forehead. “Thank you.” He pages in the rest of the group. “Dog is found and brought back to my apartment. Mission succeeded.”  
“What do you mean, dog is found?” Fury’s voice echoes.  
Steve and Bucky both look at each other. “What do I tell him?” Steve mouths.   
“Hide and seek?” Bucky mouths back.  
“Um, we were playing hide and seek. It got a bit out of hand. Everything’s okay now.” Steve lies.  
Fury is silent for a moment. “Alright, then. Don’t let it happen again.”  
“Yes, sir.” the two men mumble, and Fury’s gone.  
“Shit, that was close.” Bucky mutters.   
Steve scoots the dog over and sits down on the couch. “Yeah.”  
Bucky leans against his shoulder. “Why does this group always get into so much trouble?”  
Steve shrugs. “We’re gifted people. It’s bound to happen.”  
“Gifted? I’d say so, commander.” Bucky says with a wolfish grin.  
Steve swallows. “Yeah, um, about that...”  
They don’t make it to lunch.


End file.
